What causes pemphigoid gestationis?
Pemphigoid gestationis is an autoimmune blistering disease, which basically means that an individual’s immune system starts reacting against his or her own tissue. Immunoglobulin type G (IgG) autoantibodies (known as the PG factor) cause the damage. In pemphigoid gestationis the target is a protein known as BPAG2 (also called BP180), found within the basement membrane, which is the zone between the epidermis and the dermis (the top and middle layers of skin). BPAG2 is within the hemidesmosome, the cell component that sticks the epidermal keratinocyte cells to the dermis. The antibody attack results in inflammation and separation of the epidermis from the dermis allowing fluid to build up and create a blister.
